


Morals are Questioned and Kids are Adopted

by GeekintheCorner



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Almost no proof reading we die like roibns, Alternate Universe, Attempt at Humor, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Crossover, Damian Wayne is a Brat, Dick Grayson is a Ray of Sunshine, Dimension Travel, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Gen Work, Jason Todd is a Batfamily Member, No Slash, No Smut, No creepy shipping here y'all, Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, that we love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:54:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23332690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeekintheCorner/pseuds/GeekintheCorner
Summary: Tony and Peter are sucked through a mysterious portal and into a world of supers who don't kill or wear masks. They are forced to question their own mentor-mentee relationship as they get to know a family of bird and bat themed vigilantes who don't let their lack of shared DNA get in the way of family.Or the Irondad/Batfamily crossover no one but me wanted.**Slow Updates**
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Peter Parker, Tony Stark & Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark & Jason Todd
Comments: 181
Kudos: 842





	1. The Portal Guys

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: AU, fluff, censored cursing, and not quite as emotionally constipated!Batfam. 
> 
> Disclaimer: No previously seen characters or stories within this work belong to me and all original credit should be given to their respective owners.

Tony chuckles and swings an arm around Peter's shoulders. They were out celebrating the end of Peter's sophomore year with burgers and milkshakes. Sure Peter was a genius and it wasn't a surprise he made straight A's, but Tony knew how it felt to not have that acknowledged. So since May was away at a two-week nursing seminar and Peter was staying with him, Tony had taken it upon himself to celebrate with the kid. They were originally meant to eat out at some new sushi place, but Pepper had to cancel last minute, so Tony and Peter had exchanged one look before happily changing out of their dress clothes. Tony had gone with his classic sunglasses combined with a hippie type beanie he had bought just to embarrass Peter as a disguise. 

They had taken the subway to Peter's neighborhood and Tony had let the teen drag him everywhere before they finally stopped for food. At the moment they were leisurely making their way back to the tower for Mario Kart. 

"I'm serious Mr. Stark, there is no way you can beat me. With my extra experience _and_ Spidey Sense-" 

"I still like Peter Tingle more."

Peter glares at Tony and he smirks back.

"I just think we should play something more fit for you."

"Oh like what?"

"Like Wii golf." Peter smirks.

"Wow I am-"

Suddenly a red glowing light bursts to life in front of them. Immediately the hole begins to pull and tug them towards it. Tony taps his chest and pushes Peter behind him. He hears the tell-tale sound of a web being shot and barely has time to see it whip around and away from its trajectory, towards the portal before he's sucked into it himself and the world goes black. 

________________

  
  


"Grayson!"

Dick groans and pulls his plush blanket over his head.

"Richard!"

He groans again.

"Richard! If you do not get up within the next five minutes I will refuse to watch any more insipid cartoons with you for the next week!"

  
  


Dami's quiet steps sound as he walks away from Dick's door.

  
  


Is that worth getting out of his warm cloud for? Really? They could just watch more next week. 

  
  


Except the next movie was a sequel, and in Dami's own little way he had expressed… anticipation for the next one. And with the crazy lives everyone around here led Dick was happy to get his littlest brother interested in something age appropriate. 

  
  


Fine.

  
  


Dick drags himself out of bed legs first and picks a blue shirt out of his dresser to go with his sweatpants then heads downstairs to the kitchen. Alfred's idea to keep a few outfits at the manor was really paying off, just a couple of months ago he had been forced to borrow one of Bruce's shirts after an impromptu stay over.

Even if Dami isn't in the kitchen grabbing some coffee would probably be a good idea. Despite Damian's seemingly uncaring attitude he wouldn't have woken Dick up on the only morning he allowed himself to sleep in on without good reason, it would be a good idea to be alert.

Pushing the door open reveals Damian sitting at the kitchen table speaking with Alfred. Dick can get coffee _and_ talk to Dami. Good.

He purposely scuffs his feet against the floor causing the youngest bat kid to turn in his chair and look at his brother. His eyes soften around the corners and his mouth twitches, obviously relieved Dick had gotten up. Dick grins in return, sleepily ruffling his brother's hair on the way to the coffee machine. He smiles at Alfred too, as he pours equal parts creamer and coffee into an oversized Batman mug.

"Good morning Master Richard."

"M-" Dick clears his throat, "Morning Alfie."

He takes his mug to seat across from Damian. The fact that not one of his other family members are at the table speaks volumes about what an early hour on a Sunday this is. Saturday nights are always some of the heaviest for crime so the Family had almost always allowed themselves to sleep in the morning after. Even when Dick was Robin he and Bruce never did anything more strenuous than watch T.V. before twelve on Sundays. It felt very wrong to be up at, (what is the time? The clock says a little after eight), eight on a Saturday. 

  
  


Dick looks at the kid in front of him, his face impassive, only something that he did when anxious lately, and hands tightly clasp.

Dick takes a long sip of his coffee then asks "Alright Dami, what was so urgent?"

Damian's face twitches a little. "Todd called."

  
  


Well that was unexpected. Jason rarely called, preferring to just show up unannounced. And considering they had just spoken the night before he must have had some kind of news to share with the family. Though none of that explained why Damian had been the one to pick up the call. Dami doesn't elaborate. Dick arches an eyebrow in a way reminiscent of their shared parent.

Damian sighs. "I was on way way back from using the facilities when the house phone rang. As such I decided to answer it."

Well if it was the house phone than it probably wasn't the most urgent thing. Dick relaxes a little and opens his mouth to say so, but Damian cuts him off. "Todd said he had first tried to contact everyone's comms, even Drake's, before calling the manor."

"Oh."

  
  


"Yes."

  
  


Dick waits, but Damian doesn't volunteer any more information. Dick lets out an exasperated breath and prompts "And?"

  
  


Damian's eyes narrow. "And what?" he snaps. Dick is used to his littlest brother's prickly attitude after four years of knowing him, so he simply rolls his eyes before elaborating, "What did Jay want?"

  
  


"He said he wouldn't tell me while I was alone. As if I am some pathetic child, I could easily dismember-"

  
  


"Ah, ok. Let's not go there, I'm sure Jay had a perfectly acceptable reason not to tell you."

  
  


Or he was just an a**. But Dick wasn't going to tell Damian that, considering that would undermine his efforts to get him to accept his other brothers. And probably make Alfred withhold anymore coffee creamer.

  
  


"Did he say _anything_ else?"

  
  


"Just that I should wake either you or Father and bring you to the Batcave before nine."

  
  


That's not creepy at all Jason. Nope, completely normal request. Totally. Also should Dick be flattered or concerned that Damian chose to wake him up instead of Bruce. Or maybe he knew more about the nature of Jason's message than he was letting on and simply knew that Dick was less likely to bench him.

  
  


"Well see, it's not as if he's completely excluding you. Knowing Jason it's probably just some stupid prank or something. It'll be fine Lil'D."

  
  


Damian looks skeptical but relents anyway, turning his attention to the newly arrived Alfred. The cat, not their adoptive grandfather. Dick finishes off his coffee and announces that he'll meet Damian in the cave after he changes into some more presentable civvies. 

  
  


"I would remember to bring a mask Master Richard, you never know with Master Jason," Alfred's lips quirk a little.

  
  


Dick laughs. "You're right Alfred, for all we know Jay has brought home another orphan, or worse. Thank you for reminding me. You should probably bring one too Dami."

  
  


"-Tt-"

  
  
  


_____________

  
  


"It seems that your guess was not too far off Grayson," Damian deadpans, still looking at the two limp bodies stuffed into the back of Jason's car. Or the car he stole from Bruce about six months after he started associating with them again, not that anyone cared anymore.

  
  


"Dickiebird! I thought we were past automatically grouping me in with violence," Jason grins sharply. He knew they were past that, if it had ever truly been a problem any way. But… He did have two bodies in his backseat so…..

  
  


"To be fair Jaybird I said orphan not….. whatever they are." Dick glances back down at Jason's back seat. "Ok, give us the story. Watch their parents die? Find 'em stealing your tires?" Dick smirks at his little brother's scowl, he obviously didn't like the comparison. 

  
  


"Todd obviously didn't mean to find these ruffians Grayson," Damian puts in smirking, "Of course, neither did Father."

  
  


Jason scowl deepens, but the light in his eyes let's Dick know that both of his brothers knew the other was teasing. He grins as Jason snarls back with a "Shut up demon spawn, at least we weren't assassin babies. And one if these guys are as old as Bruce, and the other one is probably as old as Tim is."

  
  


"Well-"

  
  


"Ok baby bros, you can do this _again_ later. For now, Jason, where did you find them? And why are they dressed like that?"

The first figure was dressed mostly normal, in a blue hoodie and jeans. The only oddity was the guy's socks, they were visible where one shoe was missing and they seemingly spread upwards as far as the bats could see, and were red with black lines running across them. The guy was obviously a teen, his brown hair framing a face still holding onto the last remnants of childhood. 

  
  


It was really the second man who concerned Dick, if he was really a man. He seemed to be mostly encased in a shell of red and yellow armor, only his right hand and half of his face was visible. A cyborg maybe?

  
  


Jason gives a huff at the questioning but shifts his focus from Damian to Dick. He smirks knowingly, "I don't why they're dressed up like that, but I assumed that you bats wouldn't like it if I saw a couple of random tin men drop out of a portal while I was on patrol and didn't report it."

  
  


Dick's eyebrows shoot up and even Damian's face morphs into something resembling shock before he covers it up with a scowl. "You can't honestly expect us to believe that Todd."

  
  


"It definitely wouldn't be the weirdest thing to happen in Gotham lil'D, and Jason is usually honest."

  
  


"Exactly, plus why would I go through the trouble of kidnapping a couple of civvies _and_ dressing them like Comic-Con just to fool you dickheads."

  
  


Dami scowls but otherwise doesn't protest anymore.

  
  


"Is there anything else we should know? Dick glances up from the limp figures to lock eyes with his brother.

  
  
  


"Nope. They fell out of a portal. I saw them. I called mini bat. I brought them here."

  
  
  


Dick runs a hand through his hair and exhales. "Sooooo, any ideas?"

  
  


"Wait for them to awake," Damian suggests.

  
  


"Unarm them," Dick can't tell if Jason is serious or not.

  
  
  


"Both good points, but we don't know how long it'll be until they wake up or what they are actually carrying. So I think the right course of action would be to wake up B and transfer them to the infirmary," Dick puts on his 'you should definitely agree with me face'.

  
  


Damian nods, and Jason sighs adding, "As long as you're the one who goes to wake up B, I don't want to deal with that mood."

  
  


"Todd is right Richard, we will situate the prisoners onto the cots," Damian agrees, showing little sympathy for his favorite brother.

  
  


Dick cringes and nods, turning his back on his brothers and climbing the stairs back to the manor.

  
  


____________

  
  


Dick wisely grabs a travel mug of Bruce's favorite coffee from Alfred before traversing the staircase up to his dad's room. On the way he briefly considers waking up Tim too, but the knowledge that the teen is actually asleep for once holds him back, if Bruce wants to alert the rest of the family they will, but not until then. 

  
  


He braces himself as he quietly pushes open Bruce's door and pads inside. Dick has found that over the years Bruce has built up some sort of unconscious family awareness, not automatically waking up like he would with any stranger. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. On one hand Dick couldn't count the times he had gotten away with things just because Bruce didn't wake up, on the other hand all the family members had the extra honor of dealing with the bleary eyed mess that was a Batman that wasn't abruptly woken into fighting mode. 

  
  


Bruce is sprawled in a very un-batman position, his comforter is twisted around his legs and Dick can barely see the Superman socks Dick got him for his last birthday peeking out from under the covers. The only thing keeping the image from looking like a teenager collapsed after a night of partying is the lack of drool. Even Bruce's black hair is tousled in a way reminiscent of Tim before his first coffee. 

  
  


Grinning fondly, Dick places the coffee mug on a side table and reaches out to lightly shake Bruce's shoulder. "Bruce, B, wake up." The man grumbles and shoves his head farther down into the mattress. Dick’s grin stretches further and he sits down on the edge of the bed still shaking his father's shoulder. "C'mon Dad, get up."

Bruce finally rolls over and cracks his eyes open, holding that slightly stunned look he always has when Dick calls him Dad, no matter how many times he does it. Dick knows it's because of all the crappy mistakes Bruce made when Dick was a teen, he also knows that they generally worked past those quickly, but Bruce still beat himself up about a lot of them. Bruce clears his throat and responds with a "Good morning chum."

  
  


Dick's grin softens a little and he passes him the coffee. Bruce sits up against the headboard, yawning and rubbing at his forehead. He accepts the mug with a quiet "thank you" and takes a few gulps before placing it to the side and focusing on Dick. He raises a sardonic eyebrow as if to say 'Why am I awake before ten on a Sunday?' 

  
  


Dick's face becomes a little more serious. "Jason called the manor around six this morning." Bruce's face sobers, Batman slowly creeping in to his expression. "He found two guys being thrown out of a portal on one of his patrol routes. Damian was actually the one to answer the phone and wake me up, he's in the cave helping Jason get the portal guys onto cots."

  
  


Bruce nods sharply scooting off the bed. "They could be dangerous, it's probably best to restrain them in the holding cell until we can get a read on them. We should all at least have masks on, if not full costumes. Is Jason certain it was a portal?” Bruce heads to where Dick knows a Batman suit is stashed, he sighs and hangs his head. If Bruce is wearing his uniform they all probably should.

  
  


“He said it was definitely a portal and that they were unconscious when they came through. We should expect major disorientation and confusion.” Dick scrunches his nose. “And based on my own portal experiences, maybe some puking. I’m gonna go suit up, you should head down and get Dami to put on a mask. I'll see you down there."

Bruce grunts in the affirmative as Dick leaves the room to go suit up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to the end of the very first chapter, of my very first fanfic!
> 
> So just a disclaimer, I have never in my life picked up a DC comic. The libraries in my area don't really carry any comics and the closest used comic shop is 45 minutes away from me. So all my Batfam knowledge comes from wikis, YouTube comics, animations (Young Justice and Batman animated movies), and fanfics. In the universe I've set up the Batfamily is closer than I think canon portrays them, and I've stuck to pretty much just the Robins, so Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian. Babs and Stephanie will show up at some point, as will some of the Justice League.
> 
> On the Marvel side, I've watched every MCU movie and adore Irondad fanfics. I've actually handled like five Marvel comics, mostly Spider-man, and watched even more YouTube comics. This is set between Homecoming and Infinity War (which we are ignoring) under the assumption that Tony and Peter have grown a little closer, texting and occasional lab days. 
> 
> Also at some point through either therapy or a lot of tough conversations the Batfam has all learned to communicate. So everybody's on pretty good terms, if a little angsty on occasion. This whole fic is basically an indulgence of my need for fluff and crossovers. 
> 
> I will try for once a week updates and we'll see how it goes. I know my writing isn’t the best so feel free to comment with any fair criticism, or better yet, thoughts on the story.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	2. Bats? Seriously?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter wakes up. 
> 
> Does his mask look that creepy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my defense, this is technically next week.
> 
> Warnings: AU, More emotionally stable!Batfam, very slight anxiety
> 
> Disclaimer: Any familiar or previously seen characters or stories do not belong to me and credit should be given to their respective owners.

All Peter feels at first is the weightless darkness of a really good nap. Or a really, long nap. He lets himself float there for a minute happy to be undisturbed and calm for once. Then it all comes rushing back. 

**  
  
**

"Mr. Stark!"

**  
  
**

Peter shoots upright, sliding his legs over the side of whatever he had been laying on and springing to his feet, body spreads out and tenses, his fingers hovering over the web-shooters buried under his hoodie sleeves. His eyes quickly sweep the area for his mentor, not registering anything else. He finds the man lying on a cot across from another one, seemingly where he was until a few seconds ago. The Iron Man armor is mostly covering him everywhere but one hand and part of his face. Peter crosses the small space between them and taps on the armor covering his face. "FRIDAY retract armor, override Embarrassing Death." Mr. Stark's armor retracts down to his neck and Peter places his fingers over his mentor's pulse point, finding it to be strong and steady. His shoulders relax slightly, but not completely.

He takes a stance in front of Mr. Stark and looks around. They are seemingly in a cell, two of the walls are solid dark rock, with Peter's cot pressed against one side. The other two walls are made out of a very thick and clear substance, maybe Plexiglas. Peter could probably break it with a few precise punches. Outside of the clear walls seems to be a cave, and Peter sees traces of tech and other human changes, but his gaze lands on the group of people standing a few feet away. 

The one at the front of the group is tall and muscled, his build reminds Peter of Thor or maybe Hawkeye. He is dressed in a skin right grey suit with a long black cape (no capes), his cowl has pointed little spikes at the top, and his suit has a yellow belt crossing at his waist. However the most interesting thing is the symbol on the man's chest, a bat. Peter wracks his brain for any bat themed hero or villain, but none come up. The man's expression under the mask is unreadable, but Peter could guess he's the leader of the group based on the way he's angled his body between Peter and the others. Like Peter could early attack from behind the glass.

The second man is almost as big as the first. He seems both more relaxed and more tense than the other man. He's decked out in black pants and shirt, which has a red bat on the front, with a brown leather jacket. Peter spots two guns in holsters on the man's belt. His face is only partially covered by a red mask and his black hair with a shock of white is entirely visible. If the guy actually cares about his identity Peter can't tell. His mouth is set in a firm line and his arms are crossed across his chest.

The third man is equally as uncautious about his identity, a black mask of the same shape is the only thing covering his face, he too has roused black hair. He is much more slim than the other two but his skin tight black and blue suit clearly shows his coiled muscles. His face is more open than the others and Peter can sense more wariness from him.

The last figure is small, very small. He has black hair and a green mask plastered to his face. He is in a yellow hooded costume with a red type tunic. From the set of his mouth the boy seems to be glaring at Peter.

**  
  
**

Peter shifts his feet and tries to look confidently despite being at a complete disadvantage. He doesn't know who these people are or where that portal dropped them. Were these the people who triggered it or not? What would May think? How long had he been out? Most importantly, who the heck are these guys?

**  
  
**

He takes a deep breath, wincing internally at the slight shudder in it. This would be so much easier with his mask. Where had they taken his bag? Had it even gone through the portal with him? Why aren't these guys talking? Or monologuing? Just staring at him with their creepy white covered eyes. Gosh, is that what his mask looks like? No, his is much more animated. Probably.

**  
  
**

Fine. He'll talk.

**  
  
**

"So, care to explain where we are? Or why we are here? Or even how you made the portal? Or who you are? Ya know, basic monologue type stuff."

**  
  
**

The black and blue one grins and opens his mouth as if to talk, but 'Bat Thor' grunts. Which is apparently code for shut up. Yeah he is definitely the leader.

**  
  
**

"You don't know who we are?" The guy's voice is super gravelly. Like, that ain't healthy.

**  
  
**

Also, is Peter meant to know every cosplayer out there?

**  
  
**

"Uh, no. Should I?"

**  
  
**

The red mask smirks and looks at the little one. "I told you it was dimensional mini bat."

**  
  
**

"Hood," 'bat Thor' grunts again, but Peter is too busy processing the red mask's comment.

**  
  
**

"Dimensional!?" Peter did not squeak. "As in alternate?!"

**  
  
**

Oh no. That was not good. What the heck would May think? Or Pepper? How would they get home? Or-

**  
  
**

"Apparently." The kid mask answers him, tone somewhat bitter. Which is like, not comforting at all. 

He needs to calm down. He can do this. He just has to hold it together until Mr. Stark wakes up, he's dealt with portals before, he'll know what to do. Peter takes a few deep breaths and readjust his stance in front of Mr. Stark's cot.

**  
  
**

"Ok. Why are we here?" Peter hardens his expression, trying to seem much calmer than he is.

**  
  
**

"We don't know. We were hoping you could tell us." 'Bat Thor' really needs to see a doctor.

**  
  
**

"So you didn't make the portal?" 

**  
  
**

The Red Mask snorts. "Of course not, why would we want to kidnap a scrawny teen and a…. whatever that guy is?"

**  
  
**

Peter relaxes a little, letting his hands unfurl from where they were fisted at his side and crossing his arms lightly. If they don't know who Mr. Stark is then this is probably an alternate dimension. Unless they’re lying. But everything else adds up so… He should still make sure. "You don't know who Mr. Stark is?"

**  
  
**

They collectively shake their heads. Little creepy, but still.

**  
  
**

"Iron man?" 

**  
  
**

Black and blue says "Nope."

**  
  
**

"Avengers founder? Superhero? Saved the world multiple times?"

**  
  
**

"No."

**  
  
**

Maybe he just isn't a hero in this world.

**  
  
**

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, Tony Stark?"

**  
  
**

For some reason Red Mask snickers, and blue and black guy grins as he answers a final "Nope."

**  
  
**

Peter exhales shakily and runs his hands through his hair. "Right, I don't suppose you could confirm that?"

**  
  
**

The black and blue one glances at 'bat Thor' and the man gives some sort of unidentifiable grunt that apparently means "sure." Maybe all the guy's grunts are what ruined his vocal chords.

**  
  
**

The black and blue one pulls out a phone from Thor knows where and walks over to the glass separating Peter from the group. He gives Peter a small smile, "I'm Nightwing by the way."

**  
  
**

"Peter."

**  
  
**

"Do you think a Boogle search would convince you?"

**  
  
**

"Wait, Boogle? What's that?"

**  
  
**

Someone, Peter thinks it's Red Mask, snorts and interjects, "You can't seriously have never heard of the internet."

**  
  
**

"Hood," 'Bat Thor' grunts again.

**  
  
**

Peter is pretty sure Nightwing rolls his eyes under the mask. "Ignore them. Boogle is a search engine, have you ever used one?" His voice sounds way too nice to be asking such an insulting question.

**  
  
**

"Of course I have, it's just called Google, not…. Boogle." Peter hopes he sounds as disgusted as he feels.

**  
  
**

Nightwing laughs loudly and pulls up the main Boogle page. Surprisingly the color scheme and layout are almost exactly the same. The Boogle logo is even animated in a celebratory way. Peter watches closely as Nightwing types the name Tony Stark into the search box. 

**  
  
**

The only things that come up are a local news article covering a mechanic's latest accomplishment and a few obituaries. Nightwing clicks on one of the articles and a picture of a man wearing Mr. Stark's face pops up.

**  
  
**

"Oh my gosh, I'm in an effing alternate dimension."

**  
  
**

Nightwing gives him what he thinks is a sympathetic look.

**  
  
**

"Now that we have taken an eternity to establish that. Tell us who you are and how you came to be here." Little mask's British tilt says. Peter bristles at the commanding tone and narrows his eyes at the now much closer child. He opens his mouth to speak when Mr. Stark groans behind him. Peter quickly turns around to make sure he's the first thing Mr. Stark sees and not the people in masks behind him.

**  
  
**

Or the glass cell they're in.

**  
  
**

Or the cave.

**  
  
**

Mr. Stark struggles to sit up, but Peter's Spidey Sense tells him that isn't the best of ideas. He barely manages to get a helpfully placed bucket under his face in time. Peter hears a couple of disgusted noises behind him but doesn't turn around. Instead he tries to get ahead of Mr. Stark's questions as soon as the man seems vaguely coherent. By rambling.

**  
  
**

"So that portal was not good Mr. Stark. It spit us out unconscious in, like, a different universe! And this guy found us," he gestures towards Red Mask, "and brought us back to this creepy place." He motions to encompass the entirety of the cave. "And now we're in a cell. Which I could totally break out of. But they didn't seem like bad guys." He points towards the whole of the masks. "But they also didn't know who you are!" Mr. Stark makes an affronted noise. "And neither did Boogle. Which is some trash alternate Google. And-"

**  
  
**

"Wait, slow down kid." Mr. Stark places a hand on Peter's shoulder, which is nice but he wasn't done explaining. He opens his mouth again, but Mr. Stark cuts him off. "Pete you're rambling, take a few deep breaths." 

Peter could calm down easier if Mr. Stark wasn't glaring over his shoulder. He still tries to breathe though and eventually stills enough for Mr. Stark to squeeze his shoulder briefly before letting go. Mr. Stark stands up, only shaking slightly. He steps forward as close to glass as he can get without touching it.

At this point all of the masks have moved into a much less arranged look. Nightwing is actually closer to the door now, he seems like the type of guy to try and help a puking person, so that makes sense. Little mask has retreated slightly, 'not Thor's' hand now resting on his shoulder from his closer position. Red Mask is still where he was, attention flitting between 'Bat Thor' and Nightwing. 

**  
  
**

Tony crosses his arms across his chest in his patented lecture look. Which is definitely unexpected. "You people didn't make the portal?"

**  
  
**

Nightwing unsurprisingly answers, "Nope. Don't have the means or the desire."

**  
  
**

"And you know we didn't make it?" He raises an eyebrow. 

**  
  
**

"Well-" Nightwing starts but 'Bat Thor' cuts him off.

**  
  
**

"No. We do not know that."

**  
  
**

Mr. Stark purses his lips. Oh, no.

**  
  
**

"Tell me, Mr. Bats, why would I willingly come to a universe where I have no money," he starts counting off on his fingers, "no fame, and no way of contacting my company?" The “or Pepper and Rhodey” isn't mentioned but Peter can feel Mr. Stark's frustration at just that.

**  
  
**

' Bat Thor' grunts in acknowledgement but still asks "How do we know you aren't lying about everything, that you have some way to travel back and forth?"

**  
  
**

Mr. Stark's left eye twitches. He takes a deep breath. "If I can prove to you that we do not have a way to flip flop dimensions, and that we are not villains, will you let us out of this cage?"

**  
  
**

"It's not a-" Nightwing starts again.

**  
  
**

"Yes." 'Bat Thor's' gravelly voice cuts off again. 

**  
  
**

Mr. Stark immediately taps his suit.

**  
  
**

"FRIDAY speaker mode."

**  
  
**

"Of course Boss."

**  
  
**

Peter watches the masks faces, hoping to see at least vague belief. Nightwing and Red Mask seem vaguely surprised by FRIDAY, the other two seem indifferent.

**  
  
**

"State your purpose and use."

**  
  
**

"I am a fully functioning AI created by Tony Stark. I control and monitor all Stark Industries locations and am fully integrated into all of his Iron man suits to optimize his "superheroing."

**  
  
**

Mr. Stark shoots a  _ look  _ at 'not Thor,' he grunts in acknowledgement. Seriously-

**  
  
**

"Access the cameras in Stark Tower."

They wait, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with each other. Except for Mr. Stark, he's staring at 'Bat Thor' with a smirk.

**  
  
**

"I was unable to access them Boss. It seems I am unconnected to any satellites and my system has been reduced to base functions."

**  
  
**

"Thank you FRIDAY."

**  
  
**

"Anytime Boss."

**  
  
**

Mr. Stark is still staring at 'Bat Thor.' The other man grunts again and somehow Nightwing interprets that as a sign to let them out. Mr. Stark calmly steps out and Peter rushes behind him. For a minute they all just stare at each other which is awkward, to say the least. 

**  
  
**

"So, are you all supposed to be some type of superheroes?"

**  
  
**

Silence.

**  
  
**

"Or anti-heroes?" Peter puts in. Mr. Stark gives him look #56, AKA explain,  _ now _ . Peter grins sheepishly. "Black cat and Deadpool are pretty cool."

**  
  
**

Mr. Stark's face does not bode well for Peter. Thankfully Nightwing takes this moment to address 'Bat Thor,' saving Peter from look #3. 

**  
  
**

"B," he says imploringly. 

**  
  
**

"Don't be an idiot Nightwing," Little mask says. Peter does  _ not  _ jump, and he definitely still remembered he was there. 

**  
  
**

"I think he's right baby bat, nothing they could do with it anyway," Red Mask says. 

**  
  
**

'Bat Thor' grunts again.

**  
  
**

And then they are all taking off their masks. Which honestly doesn't make much of a difference, though with Peter's enhanced eyesight he can tell all but Red Mask have various shades of blue eyes. Red's are green. Nightwing seems to become warmer and smiles widely at them, he's pretty sure the guy is in his twenties. He was already pretty close to Peter, so it's only a few steps until he's close enough to touch him. Which puts Peter on edge until he sticks out his hand. 

**  
  
**

"Dick Grayson, vigilante alias Nightwing."

****  
  


Peter tentatively smiles back and shakes his hand. "Peter Parker," he glances at Mr. Stark and he nods a little, "alias Spiderman."

Nightwing, or Dick, gestures to his masked compatriots, "These idiots are my family and fellow vigilantes. Batman, Red Hood, and future Robin. Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd-Wayne, and Damian Wayne."

Dick glares at 'Bat-' Mr. Wayne and the older man sighs before walking over to where Mr. Stark is standing beside Peter and sticks out his hand. Mr. Stark retracts the entire suit into the arc reactor before taking his hand. Neither one smiles, they seem to come to terms with one another anyway. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, first of all I would just like to give a huge thank you to anyone who subscribed, bookmarked, commented on, or gave kudos to the last chapter. I really did not expect this story to get much attention at all so y'all really made my day!
> 
> Secondly, I feel a little weird about this chapter, idk why. Maybe it's the slightly awkward introductions or descriptions? I hope y'all were able to decipher the costume descriptions, if not maybe refer to the animations. I'm thinking Batman vs Robin for Bruce, Alfred, and Damian and Young Justice season three for Dick and later Tim. For Tony and Peter I think Infinity War is probably the closest. I hope I got everyone's characterizations right, I had a hard time figuring out how the bats an Tony would react in a situation like this.
> 
> Thirdly, yes we have a chapter count now, it's not a set amount, but I'd say it's pretty close to what I have planned. You guys can expect chapter three by next Sunday, and it will feature Tim so I'm excited. It'll also bring in some key plot points so we can actually get the plot rolling, yay!
> 
> Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any comments or concerns in the comments! Stay safe and sanitized y'all!


	3. Of Coffee and Interdimensional Anomalies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim wakes up. He just wants his coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, I was bored?
> 
> No characters or stories that are familiar belong to me, as I am the definition of a lazy girl and I assume it takes a lot of work to acquire the rights to something you did not make.

Tim Drake-Wayne is one of those people who wakes up with the birds, no pun intended. Or who stays up late enough to hear them. Or just doesn't sleep at all, but that's beside the point. But on Sundays he, just like the rest of the family, allows himself to sleep in (if he goes to sleep but,). Still he's usually the first person up, even if he wakes up at ten. 

  
  


His usual Sunday routine consists of stumbling into the kitchen for a cup of less black than usual coffee before crashing on the family room couch until someone else comes downstairs. So this morning that's exactly what he does. He blearily makes his way down the manor stairs and to the dark wooden door that leads to the kitchen. 

  
  


Tim pushes it open into the usual quiet of a mid-morning Sunday and let's muscle memory guide him to the Kruger. He puts the coffee mix into the machine and stares at it while it slowly starts to drip into his oversized Superman mug. He inhales like a man without oxygen as the smell of brewing coffee fills the air.

  
  


"Ahem."

  
  


Tim's eyes fly open and he whirls around to face whatever intruder managed to get into the kitchen, and past Alfred. 

  
  


Only to come face to face with every member of his family minus Alfred. And also two guys he's absolutely sure he's never seen before. One of them waves slightly at him and Tim drops out of his defensive position. He locks bewildered eyes with Bruce’s vaguely amused ones. He scowls crossing his arms over his Batman t-shirt, trying to hold back the blush threatening to stain his face at being caught unaware, in his pajamas no less. At least Jason seems to be half asleep in his chair, or Tim would never hear the end of it.

  
  


“B, what’s going on?” It can’t be too bad just based on Bruce’s face, but it could be mind control, you never know with this family.

  
  


“We are waiting for Zatanna to arrive,” Bruce’s tone is borderline impatient and he cuts a glance at the older of the two strangers, the one who hadn’t waved. The man is wearing nice jeans and a band t-shirt Tim doesn't recognize under a blazer jacket. He grins when he notices Tim observing him.

  
  


"Why?" 

  
  


Bruce’s face pinches into an annoyed look before he answers, “An unknown dimensional occurrence.”

  
  


Tim huffs and looks to Dick for help, his older brother takes pity on him and elaborates, “Jay found these two,” he points at the two strangers, each of them acknowledge Tim, “being spat out of a portal in Crime Alley this morning.” 

Tim blinks once, then twice. “An interdimensional event happened and none of you thought to wake me up!?” 

  
  


Dick’s expression becomes a little sheepish but he doesn’t apologize.

  
  


“Why would we have woken you up Timothy?” Damian’s British tilt almost always sounds sarcastic, but Tim is certain the tween is being purposely condescending this time. He lets out an angry huff and drops down into the closest kitchen chair between Dick and the younger portal guy. He jumps a little in his chair and Tim notices the teen is practically bouncing, probably from anxiety. Tim feels a little bad about spooking him, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to interrogate him either. After he gets the whole story out of his family first. 

  
  


“What time was this Jason?”

  
  


“What does that have to do with anything?” Tim’s predecessor's chin is pressed against his fisted hand and his eyes are half closed.

  
  


"I could check and see if there was an abnormal energy in the area when it opened."

  
  


"You have the equipment to do that?" The older portal guy asks, perking up from where he was slouched in his seat. Tim shoots a nod at him and then redirects his gaze to Jason, raising an eyebrow. 

  
  


"Ugh, I'm pretty sure it was like 7:30? Maybe a little before."

  
  


"Ok, great. I'll be in the cave if any of you need me." Tim stands back up and snatches his now full coffee mug from the machine. He places his hand on the doorknob when it opens and he has to scramble out of the way as Alfred steps into the room.

  
  


"Ah, Master Timothy, I do hope you aren’t leaving. I was just about to start on lunch.” The older man smiles, but Tim knows that look, if he leaves now he won’t see his Geisha coffee for at least a month.

  
  


Tim backpedals and looks to his family for help. When he finds no sympathy, and even knowing and vindictive smirks from Jason and Damian respectively, he sighs. “Of course not Alfred, I was just going to get dressed.”

  
  


Alfred looks over his Batman themed pajamas with a critical eye before nodding his head, “I think that would be quite a good idea.” 

  
  


Tim nods back, quickly slipping out the door and up the stairs. If only Alfred hadn’t stopped him, maybe he could sneak off anyway. He really could help find the source of the portal, given a little time, and he  _ really  _ didn’t want to conversate with a couple of strangers on a Sunday morning. Although…. Maybe they could tell him more about dimension travelling, as far as he was aware the only people who had been able to do that before were the Flashes, and they hadn’t used portals, just massive amounts of speed.

  
  


Tim changes into jeans and a Green Lantern hoodie, which is definitely not because of his and Bruce’s ongoing feud, Tim would never be that petty. He glances longingly at his desk and chair, grabbing his laptop and slipping on his sneakers. He’s already taken too long, Alfred would send somebody after him any minute now.

  
  


He drains the last of his coffee on the way back down the stairs.

  
  


This time he knows to sneak into the kitchen and he’s pretty sure only Bruce and Dick notice his entrance into the fray, and maybe the older portal guy. He should probably learn their names. The seat he had been in is occupied by Dick who’s currently chatting away with the younger of the two. Bruce is paying subtle attention to them, likely scanning for information about the newcomers. Tim picks out some pop culture references, the portal guy seems much more at ease now and is gripping a steaming mug of something. Everyone is and Alfred catches his eye, motioning to another mug sitting on the counter. Tim trades out his now empty coffee mug for that one and moves to the empty seat beside Jason and across from the other portal guy. He inhales the scent of caffeinated hot chocolate and thanks whatever deities are out there for Alfred Pennyworth. He takes a sip and opens up his laptop, he should be able to get a little work done before Alfred takes it away.

  
  


Only a second later he has to snatch his hands away from being crushed between the sides of his computer.

  
  


“Hey!” Tim glares at Jason but makes no move to take it back, in a battle of brute strength Tim wouldn’t have a chance.

  
  


“You can be a workaholic later Timmy, right now you need to be a good little Wayne and help me entertain our guests.” Jason is holding the electronic device above his head.

  
  


Tim snorts, “It’s not as if you’re one to talk about being rude.”

  
  


Jason opens his mouth to reply but a snarky voice cuts him off.

  
  


“Ah, excuse me, one of the guests can hear you, and considers being talked about in front of him much ruder than being ignored. Though being ignored is  _ not  _ good for my poor, delicate ego.” The man sighs dramatically.

  
  


Both Jason and Tim stare at him for a few moments, neither willing to reply to that comment.

  
  


“I apologize for my brothers’ behavior Stark, we fear they are both missing something important in their heads.”

  
  


Tim and Jason both flinch at Damian’s voice. Neither had noticed him slip into the seat on the other side of the older portal guy. 

  
  


“Don’t sweat it short stack,” Damian scowls, “I deal with that everyday, sort of in my job description.”

They're quiet for a few more awkward seconds, the only sounds feeling the air are those of sizzling bacon and Dick and the other kid’s chattering.

  
  


Jason nudges Tim and he shoots him a look.  _ Talk. _

  
  


Tim narrows his eyes. _ No.  _

  
  


Jason’s eyes widen slightly and his lips purse.  _ Do it now or your life and dignity are at stake. _

Damian huffs from beside Stark. “What exactly is your job?”

  
  


“Well it really depends. I have a  _ real  _ job, and then I have a  _ side  _ job. Both of which cause me to run into obnoxious people.”

  
  


“Ah, I understand. I too must deal with idiots all day.”

  
  


“Hey!” “Damian!”

  
  


Stark is obviously amused. If the man gets along so well with Damian Tim isn’t sure if he wants to talk to him.

  
  


“I actually find it harder to deal with my night activity’s coworkers, do you?”

  
  


“Definitely, a bunch of stuck up stubborn superheroes. Except for Pete over here of course.”

  
  


“Wait hold up a minute. You guys are superheroes?”

  
  


“Yep Timmy, you would know that if you weren’t such a zombie in the morning.” Jason nudges him again.

  
  


The man grins, “Superhero, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, Tony Stark.”

  
  


“Ok, wow, coincidences much. Is he a superhero too?” Tim points down the table.

  
  


“Yep, Spiderman, Peter Parker, teen from Queens” the man has a proud look on his face as he says it, reminiscent of Bruce watching one of them take down a rogue or politely interact with other humans. That makes Tim wonder….

  
  


“Is he your kid?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again, with me posting too early. I actually don't have chapter 4 written so maybe I'll hold on a full week this time. 
> 
> I hope I got Tim right, this is the first time I've ever written him so I'm sure he's at least a little OOC, feel free to give me any pointers on how to improve his POV. 
> 
> Also, another huge thank you to everyone who read, subscribed, bookmarked, commented, or left kudos on the last chapter. Y'all make my day!
> 
> Stay safe and sanitized out there!


	4. The Plot Thickens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason notices some stuff. Zatanna is awesome, but also confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is technically a business week later.
> 
> There is a slight change in format, don't let bother you too much.
> 
> Also very, very little proof reading, so.

Jason winces as the question leaves Tim's mouth. He knows that Tim is still in that morning fog of his, he's barely been up a half an hour, but that was a little bit of a personal question to ask the guy he just met. Although Tim hadn't been around for introductions so he doesn't know they both have last names, which honestly doesn't mean anything to the Waynes but…. 

He watches as Stark's face twists a little in on itself, "Ah, well, that's kind of complicated, see, I mean, sort of, maybe?." Stark stutters a little, and it obviously  _ is  _ complicated. Unsurprisingly it reminds him of the way Bruce used to act when asked similar questions, so Jason decides to save him the best way he knows how, by saying something minorly offensive.

"So why'd you choose such a weird name? Iron man, sounds like something you'd call a stay at home dad." 

A 'Tt' comes from the general area around Damian but Jason ignores him.

Stark registers the jab for what it is but goes along with it anyway. He scoffs with faked offense. "As if naming yourself the Red Hood is any better. How did that even pop into your head?"

Jason notices the wince on Tim's face from the corner of his eye, whether from realizing he had just asked a painful question or recognizing that Stark had just hit a sore point Jason doesn't know, and honestly doesn't care. He dodges the more difficult parts of that particular subject by simply replying, "Stole it from a villain actually."

Stark nods, "That works, like a big ol' middle finger to whoever it is."

"Exactly! Nobody ever gets that!" Everyone always assumes it was still Pit Insane Jason's way of freaking out Bats, no one ever considers it was meant to insult the  _ Joker,  _ as if showing him Jason could do being bad better than he ever could. 

Suddenly Bruce stands up, startling everyone at the table, most of whom had forgotten the imposing man was there at all. "B?" Dick questions, uncrossing his legs as if to stand as well. Jason follows suit and registers both Damian and Tim doing the same, Robin instincts kicking in Jason supposes. 

"It's fine." They all collectively relax, "Zatanna has just arrived, I'll just go let her in."

As Bruce leaves the room it settles into an awkwardly charged atmosphere, and not the kind you would see at a middle school dance, more like the kind that you would feel around any encounter between Hal Jordan and Bruce Wayne. Jason shifts uncomfortably in his chair, entirely aware of his going on 36 hours without sleep and suddenly wishes he had just left as soon as he had dumped the portal guys. The lack of conversation doesn't help keep him awake, and no one seems willing to start one before Bruce comes back, so Jason is left to suffer in silence. 

_ Tap. Tap. Tap. _

Jason glances at Stark, he's tapping a now armored hand against the table. Obviously the armor is a show of power, he's probably wary of Zatanna, maybe a result of bad previous experiences with magic. Tim is trying his hardest not to stare at the advanced machinery and Jason smirks at his pathetic attempts to hide his interest.

_ Tap.Tap.Tap. _

Jason's face twitches.

_ Tap.Tap.Tap. _

His hand spasms slightly, curling into a half fist.

_ Tap.Tap.Tap. _

He bites his tongue to keep from lashing out.

_ Tap.Tap.Tap. _

Right, nope, that's it- something hits him in the shin and knocks him out of his building annoyed state. He glances at Tim and he gives Jason a pointed look that cuts across to the doorway. Jason gets the point and slouches down further in his chair.

_ Tap.Tap.Tap. _

"Mr. Stark, just because Pepper isn't here…." Peter says from beside Stark, he has an eyebrow raised in silent reproach.

Stark's eyes widen a little before narrowing into a slight glare, "That's betrayal, Pete."

Peter just shrugs but the tapping noise doesn't pick up again, so Jason isn't going to murder anybody at the moment. Just then the kitchen door opens again and Bruce walks in leading Zatanna, in full hero attire. Dick nods at her and she smiles back. Alfred offers her a mug of cocoa and she declines.

"Zatanna, this is Tony Stark and Peter Parker, the ones Jason found." She shakes both of their hands in turn, Stark gives her a roguish grin while Peter smiles lightly. Bruce addresses the dimensional interlopers, "This is Zatanna, she specializes in magic and its relatives."

"I assume you've spoken to the Flashes?"she asks the room at large 

"I spoke to Barry earlier and I believe Dick spoke to Wally," Dick nods, "No one knew of any speed related incidents." 

"Right," Zatanna cracks her knuckles, "Let's get down to business then. Peter was it?" Peter nods, "If you could just stand up here so I can do a simple scan, just to see if there's any identifiable magical residue."

Before Peter can stand Stark jerks abruptly to his feet. "Ah, I think whatever you decide to do you should try on me first." A slight pause. "Wouldn't want to have to explain any weird side effects to his aunt."

Jason exchanges a look with Tim and they roll their eyes together. It's like they pulled a weird, vaguely cooler copy of Bruce out of some unknown dimension.

Zatanna smiles knowingly and gestures for him to move away from the table. "Of course."

Peter scowls a little but doesn't protest as much as it looks like he wants to. 

Jason turns his attention back to Zatanna. Despite his…. Unfortunate relationship with magic he's always been fascinated by it. Sometimes when he was Robin he would chat for hours with the League's more magical members. On one memorable occasion Jason had scared the bats out of Bats when he asked Constanine if he was like a magical Sherlock. The antihero had just chuckled and said something along the lines of him being much worse to get along with. After the Pit though Jason had avoided magic like the plague, the green that had always lined his vision back then would always flare around the unnatural pull of magic. That didn't happen any more, it had gone away with time and forced pseudo therapy sessions. Since then Jason hadn't really been around anything of a magical nature that wasn’t trying to kill him, so he was honestly a little excited to witness Zatanna at work.

She stands back about five feet from Stark. She places her hands in front of her and crosses them in a quick motion. "Laever yna cigam." Suddenly bright green runes float in a circle around Stark's face. Jason leans forward in interest. Tim is scratching away at a paper he got from somewhere, probably Alfred, glancing up at the floating script and then back down at the paper.

"So, I guess that means we've been Harry Pottered," Stark says, voice laced with annoyance.

Peter snorts from where he's trying to read the symbols floating around Stark’s eyes. Nobody else laughs and Tim asks "Harry Potter?"

Peter's face crumples and buries his face in his arms, "We're in h*ll Mr. Stark."

Bruce looks at Peter with pursed lips and then addresses Zatanna, "Do you know how to send them back?"

Zatanna's brow is furrowed in thought. "I've never seen this type of rune before." She twists her hands again. "Etalsnart."

The light around Stark flares a dark green and the lights flicker out, the runes following shortly after. 

Jason had forgotten the kitchen doesn't have windows, he is starkly reminded of this fact when the room is plunged into inky darkness. The sound of wood on wood reverberates through the room as everyone jumps from their seats, unwilling to be caught unaware if the magic decides it isn't done. 

Somebody, Jason thinks it was Peter, squeaks a little as he jumps up. Almost as soon as the sound passes his lips a bright blue light comes from around Stark, from what appears to be his hands. He shines the light towards where Peter was seated only to find the chair empty. Before Jason can react the man moves the light upwards to shine on the teen who is somehow attached to the ceiling. Peter sheepishly smiles, dropping soundlessly back down to his chair. 

Tim is geeking out again from beside him, and Jason is pretty sure he heard a “Holy s*it!” when Stark found Peter but Jason ignores him in favor of slinking over to where he’s sure the back-up power switch is, he collides with a total of two hands when he gets there and when Alfred finally turns on the generator he, Jason, and Dick are all on the opposite side of the room from the others. 

"Sorry," Zatanna says, whether to Stark or the room of people it’s uncertain.

“It’s fine Ms. Houdini, did you learn anything?” Stark says from where he’s now standing beside Peter, an unarmoured hand on his shoulder.

“I’m afraid not much. Your portal was definitely magical, though what type or who cast it is unknown to me.” She frowns a little, “I would put money on the sorcerer being from your dimension.”

Bruce sighs, and Jason can hear the resignation in it. “So they’re stuck here?”

Zatanna lips draw into a line as she nods. “I could scan Peter, but the results would likely be the same. I’ll consult with some people and see if they have any ideas. Until then you should just monitor them, make sure nothing seems off."

"Of course." Bruce affirms and Jason can't tell what the man feels about the situation, but he would guess annoyance. At least they didn't have anything else going on, the last major gang war had been two weeks ago and the underworld had been rather quiet since.

Zatanna turns to Tim, probably to ask for his transcript when Stark says "Watch out for anything related to a Dr. Strange."

Zatanna quirks an eyebrow.

"An a**hole I work with, also known as the Sorcerer Supreme.” His voice is tinged with sarcasm. “He's dealt with dimensional disturbances before, it’s possible he might notice something went wrong."

She nods and takes Tim's second copy of the runes. 

"I'll be in touch," she tilts her head towards Bruce and walks out the door.

The room is left in relative silence and Jason becomes distinctly aware he’s the only one still standing near the light switch, Dick has drifted towards Damian and Alfred is quietly speaking with Bruce. The dimensional interlopers are standing where they are, Jason shifts towards them as everyone else is otherwise engaged, even Tim is tapping away at his laptop. The kid is looking nervous again and Stark doesn’t seem to know what to do about that, though it’s probably good he hasn’t removed his hand from the younger’s shoulder. Jason sidles up next to Bruce and Alfred as their whispered conversation comes to an end. He taps Bruce on the shoulder and gains his attention.

“I think those two,” he shoots his gaze towards the pair in the corner, “need a break.”

From his experiences with portals they could be exhausting things, and if the guy is as much like Bruce as he seems he’ll want time to talk over the situation with his son in private.

Surprisingly, Bruce lightens a little “Of course, why don’t you show them to some guest rooms?” He does not hold up the previously hushed tone and two heads swivel towards them.

“What? B, I don’t ev-”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea Master Bruce. You should take a rest as well Master Jason, you haven’t slept in a while.” Alfred, the traitor, cuts in before he can finish his protest.

And he supposes he knows the manor well enough again to find two guest rooms, but still. 

He opens his mouth again but Bruce and Alfred both raise identical eyebrows and Jason concedes his defeat with a sigh. 

He turns to the travelers. “You two, c’mon.”

When they don’t move Jason lets out another sullen sigh. “I’m going to take you to your guest rooms.”

Stark narrows his eyes but gives Peter a little nudge towards the door. 

Bruce stops Stark on the way out, “We’ll let you know of any developments.”

Stark nods his head, but a quick poke in the side from Peter spurns a quiet “Thank you.”

Jason leads them down the hall and up the stairs. “Any luck with that armour of yours?” 

Stark startles, “What?”

“Well you’re doing something with it, you kept fiddling with it under the table.” It’s not the man’s fault he was in a room with people who made it their job to be suspicious.

“None of your business, nosy.” He snaps out, wounded pride likely.

A sigh from behind them proceeds a “Mr. Stark is just backdooring a satellite.”

Now it’s Jason’s turn to startle. “What?”

“I need the internet, FRIDAY can’t fully function without it.”

“But you can do that?”

“Of course, it would already be done if the internet wasn’t structured differently here,” Stark sounds smug, and rightfully so, the only people Jason would think capable of that feat were Oracle and maybe Tim.

“Huh.”

“Yep,” Peter chirps from behind them as they make the last turn on their trip.

“Here we are,” Jason opens two doors on each side of the hall. 

Stark hesitates before placing another hand on Peter’s shoulder, “You good Peter?”

Peter gives a smile and nods. 

“Good.” He runs the hand through Peter’s hair and nudges him towards the room on the left. He goes to cross into his own room when Json impulsively stops him. 

“Ya know Stark, for a guy who doesn’t have a kid you sure act like you do.”

Stark’s lips twist. “It’s Tony.” He closes the door before Jason can say anything else.

Jason smirks to himself as he makes his way to his own room, for as long as the portal guys are here he, and probably Dick (for much less selfish reasons), were going to have a h*ll of a time poking at that particular button. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, I obviously have no self control, don't @ me.
> 
> This is actually the second time I've written Jason, but the first post-pit write of him so please go easy on me. Also you may have noticed a lack of Bruce angst, which is due to the fact that I have greatly diminished that in this AU, by means unknown. Also slightly awkward Tony here, mostly due to the situation he's in added to my unpolished writing. It'll get better now that I've split up the group.
> 
> Once again a huge thanks to everyone who has read, subbed, commented on, or gave kudos to this story, your support continues to astound me and brighten my day!
> 
> One last thing, would y'all like a slight appearance by Cass? I don't know much about her so it might be a bit of a mess, but I feel bad not including her, so.
> 
> Now off to finish my chem lab, like a responsible student. Ha.


	5. If you're a hero hide your parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Peter talk. Tony does some research.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Self control? Do I know her?
> 
> Disclaimer: I have still not acquired any rights to anything.

Tony closes the guest room's door and plants his forehead on the smooth wood with a sigh. He was trying really hard  _ not  _ to freak out. Because if  _ he  _ freaked out then  _ Peter  _ would freak out and then what would Tony do? He doesn't handle Peter feeling bad on a good day, in an alternate dimension Tony has no doubt his brain would simply melt and then Pepper would never know what happened to him because he's in a friggen different universe. 

Tony lifts his head off the door and let's it fall again. Which was stupid because now his head hurts. He sighs again. 

This is probably the most crazy thing to ever happen to him, and that is saying something. It couldn't have just been a semi-normal alternate dimension, no it had to one where Tony was a completely normal mechanic in some town and the supers he winds up being found by are named after birds and bats.

And their only lead came up empty, which means that at the moment Tony is depending entirely on the vigilantes downstairs and possibly Stephen Strange. Whom he's only recently began working with and who he consider a major a**. And he doesn't even has a change of clothes and his money probably doesn't work here and May is going to have his head when they get back,  _ if  _ they get back, and they've already been gone for at least a day so who knows what Pepper is thinking and how long will they be stuck here and- 

"Boss, your heart rate indicates the onset of a panic attack. Would you like to begin calming exercises?"

Tony gulps in air through the throat he hadn't even realized was closing up and closes his eyes. He takes a few more deep breaths before speaking, "I'm good, thanks FRI." He can't afford to be otherwise.

"Of course Boss. It also appears integration with the new internet structure is complete, if you would like to explore it now."

"I think we'll wait on Pete for that, I give him ten minutes before he comes in here, bet?" Tony moves around the nicely decorated room, searching for cameras, Wayne had seemed like the paranoid type. 

"I'd rather not go up against those odds Boss." If Tony ever regrets how far he's pushed FRIDAY's programming it's when she uses that patronizing tone.

"Killjoy," he mutters under his breath. "Do a tech scan will you baby girl."

He hadn't found any cameras, but that doesn't mean anything, Wayne was also at least a millionaire. He wills his helmet back on so FRIDAY can show him the results. 

"There are bugs here and here," the window and doorway light up and the encompassing range of the devices are limited to the general area, "And a larger technological output here." The wardrobe in front of the bed lights up and Tony guesses a TV. 

Ok, at least Wayne limited himself to entry and exit points. "Do the bugs have voice recorders?"

"It doesn't appear so."

"Great." Leaving them alone for the moment would be the best course of action and if Tony does need to conceal a hurried exit he knows how to. "Lets scan the ensuite real quick and I can go find Peter if he isn't here by then."

_______________________________

Tony exits the bathroom ten minutes later, sure of no bathroom bugging, he had put FRIDAY to sleep and was feeling slightly refreshed. 

Peter is sitting cross legged in the middle of the guest room's tan comforter. He turns sharply at Tony's entrance and he can feel the anxiety rolling of the teen. Something in Tony's chest clenches at that, but he doesn't acknowledge it, choosing instead to sit delicately on the end of the bed. Peter scoots forward until his knee bumps into Tony's thigh and then stops. They sit there for a minute, Tony trying to find words to reassure Peter and failing, short of straight up lying to the boy.

"So… this is weird." Peter breaks the silence first and Tony snorts sharply. 

"That's putting it lightly kid."

Tony can feel Peter shifting lightly beside him. "What're we gonna do?"

That's the question isn't it. Tony really only sees two paths here, one is staying here and collaborating with the family downstairs, the other is to strike out on their own and make the best of it. Maybe if Tony was by himself there would actually be a choice, but he refuses to drag Peter out into an unknown world without any backup. 

"We stay here as long as we can, research, and try to get home in one piece."

  
  


Peter hums from beside him and Tony takes that as an agreement. He puts an arm around Peter's shoulders and tugs him closer.

"It'll be alright Peter, I promise to do everything I can to get us home. And in the mean time, we can laugh at the image of Strange being bossed around by a worried Pepper."

Peter laughs and Tony's lip tips upward at the sound. "Now, do you want to see how wacky this place is?"

  
  


_______________________________

  
  


"How does no one know their identities?! Like no one is wearing masks!"

"I can see that Pete."

"But Mr. Stark, MJ knew who I was just by my voice! You can't tell me that guy," Peter jabs at the red and blue dressed hero on the screen, "has a secret identity!"

Tony smiles a little at Peter's wildly moving hands. "You wouldn't think so."

"Like, you could figure out who he is in ten seconds flat with FRIDAY!"

"Huh."

" And this guy," he points to a guy in orange, "isn't wearing one either!"

"FRIDAY do a facial recognition search on this guy, give me any pictures in a 95 percent match." 

Several profiles come up, one of which is a guy named Superman, and a few civilians. One stands out to Tony and Peter comments on it before he can. "His genius disguise is a pair of glasses," is said in a complete deadpan and Tony barks out a laugh.

_______________________________

"They really don't have Harry Potter."

"Nope," Tony pops the P and Peter buries his face in one of the guest bed's many pillows. Tony types something on his makeshift armored keyboard.

"Or Narnia."

Peter groans. He types something else.

"Or Brooklyn 99." Tony thinks he hears a sob.

"Or," Tony cringes a little, "Star Wars."

Peter flops over onto his back and stares morosely at the ceiling. When he doesn't move Tony pokes him lightly in the side. Peter's head turns lightly in Tony's direction, "Why, Mr. Stark? Why are we being tortured so?"

Tony stifles a laugh and responds seriously "I don't know Pete, I just don't know."

Peter throws a pillow at his head.

_______________________________

  
  


Hey Underoos, look at this.” Tony had found a wealth of stories surrounding one Bruce Wayne and he would bet that if the man had anywhere near the public persona Tony did then there would be some interesting tidbits.

Peter doesn’t respond and Tony shrugs his shoulder a little to nudge the teen whose head is resting there. When he still doesn’t respond Tony glances down to see a sleeping spiderling. He smiles lightly before shifting against the headboard to better situate him more comfortably.

Satisfied he won’t wake up hi- the kid Tony clicks onto the most popular article on the Bruce Wayne page. It was surprisingly an old newspaper page, the headline read “ **Waynes murdered! 9 year old son is orphaned!** ” Apparently heroes being orphans is a common thing, though this does put Bruce into a more understandable position. Tony reads about the crime scene and resulting circumstances before moving on. The next few articles are mostly from tabloids and the like, chronicling the exploits of a teen billionaire, nothing that Tony hasn’t experienced himself, though most of Wayne’s headlines were much less scandalous. 

The next notable headline read, “ **Wayne heir seen back in Gotham!** ” Apparently he had embarked on a ‘world tour’ when asked for a comment on why he was gone for so long Bruce simply spewed some drivel about European women. After this the scandals pick up, obviously Wayne was building his persona, idiot playboy. 

The next articles of note all surround the celebrity taking in his brood of children. Which, only one of them is his biological child? He would have never assumed that. Tony notes the ridicule surrounding each new addition, as well as the girl he had yet to meet, and the lack of an adoption announcement for the eldest.

However, what Tony is most concerned about is the death announcements. And there are two of them, only one of which was ever retracted. Jason Todd, the very young man Tony had just spoken too a few hours ago, was said to have ‘died in a tragic accident’ around 6 years prior. Which should be impossible, faked death maybe? Magic? Thor had said that Loki had died only to not be dead at some point. He’ll definitely ask about that. The second, now retracted, death was of Bruce Wayne himself, about two years ago. Not many details were given, but nine months later the paper retracted the article saying the whole thing was some sort of conspiracy.

The articles surrounding Batman were much more frequent, but said basically nothing. Speculations and repetitive photos were generally the topic of concern, though occasionally a new picture would be snagged and theories would abound. Most recently, right around the time of Bruce’s supposed death, theories centering around the appearance change in both Batman and Robin popped up everywhere. Tony himself has some thoughts about that, but none of them are fool proof.

Tony blinks slowly with a yawn, when did he get this tired? He’ll sleep, probably, after he finishes his research.

An hour later FRIDAY automatedly retracts the armor from around a now sleeping superhero, whose head has somehow landed on top of a mop of unruly brown hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a [Tumblr](https://geekinthecorner.tumblr.com/) now, if y'all want to chat about nerd stuff. 
> 
> Hello again, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, brought to you by a late night and procrastination. I actually struggled a little with Tony, but I think it turned out ok in the end. 
> 
> Once again, a big thanks to everyone who has read, subbed, bookmarked, left a comment on, or gave kudos to this story, you make my day!
> 
> Happy Easter weekend, to those of us who celebrate, even quarantine can't ruin the heart of Easter.


	6. Interlude one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Stephen Strange discovers something strange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the short batless chapter.
> 
> Disclaimer: Nonthing is mine, except plot.
> 
> No warnings.

Stephen was perplexed. Late yesterday evening one of his alert systems had picked up a strong signal from near Queens, this in itself was unusual. His instruments usually don't pick up many mystical signals in New York, or really in America. Asia was really the only area to have frequent incidents. But even Asia had never had a readout exactly like this one. Accounting for the atmospheric pressure and the current alignment of the moon, there was really only one answer to the energy surge; a dimensional disturbance. 

Generally he would delegate this type of thing out to the appropriate department within the organization, but he hadn't had a new mystery in quite a while so he had decided to check it out himself. That and Wong had basically forced him out of the Sanctum, "You have to go outside Stephen," "You can't be here for my wizards' meeting Stephen." Blah, they both knew those meetings were just an excuse to discuss books and drink his nasty tea. Still, he had portaled out to Queens in street clothes without too much of a fuss. 

He had arrived on the side street and immediately noticed the location. It was precisely located between the two closest building corners, at the mouth of an alley. This ensured no security cameras. Which meant intelligent use of magic and not some odd natural occurrence. Of course those were rare in Stephen's current line of work, but his past always insisted he consider the natural first.

Nothing seemed obviously off with the area, no major tears in reality, or even a spooked cat to be seen. This was what was really concerning, this meant that whoever was responsible for this  _ knew  _ what they were doing.  _ Really well. _ It would take effort for Stephen himself to pull off such a feat without obvious evidence. 

But the most important question at the moment was what feat had they accomplished? That was what Stephen was still pondering during a Wong forced breakfast. 

He had crashed the poor man's book club the night before, after scouring the alley and coming up with nothing but the usual trash and random clothing items. The rest of the night he had stayed stowed away in the library researching anything and everything he hadn't already read about alternate dimensions. Still he was no closer to even deciding if a portal had simply opened or someone had gone through, or heaven forbid,  _ came  _ through. Wong was seemingly unconcerned, apparently anomalies like this happened all the time at his original sanctum. Well excuse Stephen for being worried about something he had considered entirely theoretical until a few years ago. 

"I'm serious Stephen, it was probably just a glitch or something." Wong takes a delicate sip of his tea.

"A glitch? Wong, you make it sound like a computer system." 

Stephen's friend rolls his eyes. "Of course not, but what is an alternate universe except for a slight change, or glitch, in what we consider normal."

That is surprisingly philosophical and he does not want to dwell on that.

"It was big enough to set off Gana's Horn, shouldn't that be something we look into?" 

"Perhaps, but don't run yourself ragged, I've seen what happens when you fixate on a case."

Stephen bristles a little. "I take care of myself."

Wong stares at him. Stephen hunches a little and Cloak pats him on the shoulder.

"Just take it easy my friend. I'm off to visit the Egyptian sanctum, the librarian over there needs help." Wong stands and makes his way towards the hall. Stephen follows.

"Have a good vacation Wong."

He scowls. "It's not a vacation, it's work."

"Sure."

Wong doesn't say anything else, just activates his sling ring and steps through.

Stephen retreats back upstairs and plans to stay there for a long while.

A little after lunch Stephen receives a message on the Avengers emergency chat from one Pepper Potts.

"Iron Man and Spider-Man are missing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I hit some writer's block this week, I think I've solved it but y'all still have to deal with this super short interlude. It will help the plot, I promise! I just hadn't planned on posting it this early. Likely will have a full length bat filled chapter before a week is up. 
> 
> Once again thank you to all who read, subbed to, bookmarked, gave kudos to, or commented on this story. You are my inspiration! 
> 
> Stay safe and sanitized!


	7. Those Meddling Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff and Jason has an idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short again, sorry about that.
> 
> Disclaimer: Still not mine

It’s evening now, and around eight hours since Damian woke Dick up. There’s still no sign of the travelers, and Dick would guess they were passed out somewhere, interdimensional excursions have a way of causing people to be tired after all. They had all spent some time down in the cave trying to figure out where the portal had come from, and who had cast it, but no one had any luck. The closest they had come to actually discovering anything was when Tim found some energy readouts from the area Jason had mentioned. They didn’t line up with any energy output recordings they had on record, for both friendlies and not. Apparently the power level used was somewhere between Zatanna and Dr. Fate, although Tim said the readings mostly resembled Circe’s style. Still, that got them nowhere. 

Dick had been assigned the all important task of contacting every possible source of information they could think up. He had of course complained lightly to Oracle about this, but she had told him to stop whining like a teenager and “Utilize his overly popular personality.” Psh, like that could help him with talking to Constantine. 

A little after lunch Alfred had banished everyone upstairs with a, “There’s nothing you can do, leave this to the people who specialize in this.” Bruce had protested but filed upstairs for some sandwiches with the rest of them. 

At the moment everyone is scattered across the more used living room that would probably be better named as a family room, but then they’d almost never get Damian and Jason in there would they? Dick is slouched on the couch with his feet in Tim’s lap. Tim is suspiciously active on his phone, but Dick won’t be the one to rat him out to Alfred. Damian’s sitting on the floor next to Titus playing some overly violent game, and Bruce is trying to look like he’s reading a book instead of watching him. Honestly, it’s the most relaxed Dick has felt in a few weeks. The station had been bustling lately, and his promotion to detective hadn’t helped matters. Plus his and Kori’s ‘will they won’t they’ thing was messing with all of his Titans interactions. Really the manor and the Watchtower were the only non-stressful places for him at the moment. Which was odd because generally the manor was one of  _ the  _ most stressful things Dick could think of. He lets himself sink a little deeper into the squishy cushions and closes his eyes. Nobody will mind if he clocks out for a little while.

“Wow big bird, you really are getting old, falling asleep before six. ” Jason’s sarcastic voice cuts into his almost asleep subconscious less than five minutes later. Dick lets out a sigh and cracks one of his eyes open.

“Richard has patrol later Jason, what’s your excuse for sleeping away the day?” Damian doesn’t look away from his game as he comes to Dick’s defense. Thankfully both of them seem to realize the other is kidding around. Dick grins and swings his legs off of Tim and onto the floor next to Dami. Tim just lifts his phone out of the way and goes back to typing.

“That’s right Jason. Plus even if I am old, at least I still have more energy than you, Mr. Grumpy.” He turns his grin to where Jason has flopped down into the armchair across from Bruce. He’s back in civies like the rest of them and it strikes Dick that Alfred probably convinced both of them to stash clothes here around the same time. 

“Ha, I wouldn’t want to have the amount of energy you display Dickiebird.”

Damian snorts lightly and Dick gasps loudly. “I’m offended by that, I have a perfectly normal amount of energy.”

Even Bruce chuckles this time and Dick shoots him an amused glance.

“Dick there’s nothing normal about somersaulting across rooftops until one in the morning and then waking up at  _ seven  _ in the morning to do almost the exact same thing all day long.” Tim shoots from where he’s now sitting Indian-style facing him. His eyes hold a little more weight in them then just teasing, but Dick chooses not to address that.

“Well that just proves I should be allowed to sleep, doesn’t it?”

“It certainly does Richard. I can force Todd to be quiet if that will help you be alert during patrol.” Damian offers from his spot in front of the still running TV. Dick laughs and ruffles his hair, to slight protest. 

“No thanks Dami, I think I’m good.”

The room lapses back into silence and Dick catches Bruce’s eyes to see the man smiling lightly at the group huddled by the couch. 

Jason coughs slightly and the room’s attention shifts back to him. “So, anything on the portal guys?”

Tim launches into a detailed explanation of the collected data, referring to Bruce and Dick at points. Damian has slowed a little in his game, showing that his attention is split between the conversation going on above his head and the screen.

“So, what I’m hearing is that we know absolutely nothing and we’re basically counting on a bunch of magicians to get rid of our house guests?” Dick doesn’t comment on the ‘our’ but he’s sure Bruce caught it too. 

“Err,” Tim says intelligently. 

“Yes, that about covers it,” says Bruce.

“So there’s no way to get them back anytime soon?”

“Well we hope there is, but at the moment, yeah,” Tim says. 

An alarming grin is growing on Jason’s face. “Right, that’s a tragedy. Goldie?”

Dick raises an eyebrow, “Yes?...”

“How would you like to mess with an emotionally pent up billionaire who doesn’t realize he has a kid?”

“We mess with Father at least once a week Jason,” Damian has completely paused his game now. Bruce makes a noise.

“I’m not talking about B, baby bat.”

Suddenly Jason’s meaning dawns on him and he looks at each of his brothers in turn. “A Robin situation?” Tim says excitedly.

“Definitely.”

“What’s the plan Jaybird?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still going through a bit of writer's block. This does equal shorter chapters, and i'm super sorry about that, but I think it's better to post a shorter one now than none at all for a long time. Next chapter will be Damian's POV on patrol with Dick I think, I'm looking forward to writing it so it should be a normal length.
> 
> Thanks once again to everyone who has read, bookmarked, gave kudos to, or commented on this story. Without y'all I probably wouldn't be writing at all.


	8. Icees and Patrol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian has some questions. Icees are great for asking questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much fluff, just so much.

Damian straps the last of his knives onto his ankle as he glances over at Richard. His ~~favorite~~ oldest brother had been in a good mood ever since Todd had informed them of his three part plan. Damian doesn’t understand why his brother was so happy about the prospect of meddling in other people’s relationships. No, wait, he completely understands why Richard Grayson enjoys causing people to grow closer together, goodness knows he tries to do that with everyone else in his life. What Damian doesn’t understand is why his brothers were bothering at all, it didn’t affect them if their two dimension hopping guests knew that the other _loved_ the other one. But Damian would not be the one to ask such a question and ruin Richard’s plan, he just wished he didn’t have to actively help with said plan.

He steps into the first form of the stretches Father demands they all do before patrol. Another Grayson established tradition, just like monthly movie night and Christmas time gingerbread houses. This one just happens to be a bit more practical ~~boring~~ then the others. Richard is already half-way through his even more complex version of the warm ups. At one point this would have frustrated Damian, that one of his father’s fake sons beat him at something that seems so basic. Now Damian can appreciate that Richard is just more flexible than him. Well, Nightwing is more flexible than anyone he knows, but that’s beside the point. Richard had been absent more lately, and Damian is… anticipating the second patrol of two nights in a row with his oldest brother. For all he had accepted his role beside his father he would never be  _ Damian’s  _ Batman. 

Damian finishes his final exercise and straightens out of the ridiculously twisted position to face Nightwing in full costume. Richard gives a small grin and gestures towards his bike. Damian grins back and then they’re speeding out of the cave with the sound of rubber against rock.

The night is slow, like every other night in the last week or so has been. Damian enjoys these types of nights more than he’d like to admit outloud. The feeling of simply helping normal people with relatively normal problems doesn’t seem as heavy or weighed down. Damian stops a mugging beside a general store. Richard directs a lost little girl back towards her apartment, her mother kisses him on the cheek and Damian snickers into his elbow at Nightwing’s bright red blush. They catch a car thief before he can get away and direct the young man towards a helpful shelter. The night is calm, nothing will cause them nightmares, Damian smiles more than his mother would approve of and doesn’t think about her approval once. 

They stop for icees at a seven eleven and the cashier lets the heroes have them for free. They take them up to the roof of a local apartment building and swing their legs over the side. Something’s been simmering in the back of his mind and the stillness of the night causes him to voice it.

“Richard?” Damian asks quietly.

“Hmm?” his brother hums back. “And no names in the field baby bird.”

“Why do you care so much about fixing our guests’ relationship?”

Richard is quiet for a moment and Damian turns his head to look at him. Nightwing’s face is tilted a little upwards and Robin can see where his brother is chewing on the inside of his lip.

‘“I don’t really know. I guess it just feels a little familiar, and if a little nudging would help someone in a situation like mine and Bruce’s from almost a decade ago then I’m more than happy to do a little nudging.”

Damian’s eyebrows draw together. “What do you mean? How is yours and Father’s relationship anything like the dimensional interlopers?” Richard is the favored son. Anyone with eyes could see that, it was what Damian had aspired to when he had first come to live in Gotham. Richard is the one Father turns to when he needs a second opinion, or when he asks for advice, he trusts Richard with anything and everything. There was no doubt in that blood matters little to Father, especially when it comes to his eldest. 

Richard takes a sip from his orange icee and glances over at Robin. “Have I ever told you about when I first became Nightwing?”

Damian shakes his head slowly. He only knows bits and pieces of Nightwing’s early days, it had never occurred to him to find out more. 

Richard sighs and looks back out over the skyline. “Back in the day, when I was a teen, B and I didn’t have the relationship we do now.” He pauses, as if debating whether to continue or not. “You know I was only adopted recently.”

Damian nods. He remembers the day Richard had let it slip that he wasn’t technically adopted. Chaos had erupted, the combined efforts of Jason, Steph, and Damian himself had forced Father to hide out in his office for almost a week until he hesitantly made his way to Richard’s Gotham apartment. 

“Well at the time, when I first stopped being Robin, I wasn’t. I turned eighteen and found myself floundering to find my place.” Richard smiles a little bitterly. “It got better, obviously, but I suppose I can see that feeling in Peter, he doesn’t know where he stands.”

Damian hums in the back of his throat, unable to think of anything else to say.

Richard notices and shoots him a bright grin, a mischievous tone in his voice, “Plus it’ll be fun to mess with a new stuck up billionaire.”

Damian snorts loudly and then immediately scowls at the involuntary reaction. Richard drags him over and into his side, ruffling his hair beyond repair.

“Richard!” Damian shrieks. 

Nightwing just laughs loudly and says “Names Robin.”

Damian huffs and crosses his arms when Richard lets him go.

The other vigilante stands up fully and grabs both of their discarded cups. “C’mon little bird, time to head back to the nest.”

Damian follows Richard back to the ground as he tosses out the trash before walking to where they left the bike. The night is warm and a slight breeze ruffles through his hair as they weave through back alleys and side streets. 

Damian thinks he understands a little more now. He remember's yearning for the security in his father's that his siblings seemingly took for granted. He had foolishly thought that the way to earn that security was by taking Tim's place, he had been wrong of course. It wasn't the title but the affection and trust that Richard had bestowed on him that had finally calmed the insecurities in Damian's heart. He had known then that no matter what happened he could rely on Richard, always. And somehow that was something he had always longed for and never had before then. His father hadn't trusted him, at least not until after he came back from the 'dead,' and he could never rely on his mother for the things that Richard said he should have been able to. Maybe he doesn't know why they should try and shove their way into a strangers' emotional problems, but at least he understands the reasons behind such a move.

And perhaps he's a little less against Todd's terrible plan then he was before, but no one will ever know that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah.... So, It's been a while, stuff has happened. I honestly didn't mean to leave this for long, but exams, and then a bunch of personal stuff happened so here we are. I know this isn't exactly the type of chapter y'all were waiting for but I always planned to have this convo happen between my favorite batboys, even if I've changed the content of it. If you noticed, I updated the tags not to include the 'dick is not adopted' tag, I just decided not to go with that route. On that note, if y'all have any new title opinions you can let me know in the comments or on Tumblr. While I do feel more confident in my ability to write for this, it's really likely I'll drop out again at some point, so expect slow updates.
> 
> One final note, I am overwhelmed by the response this fic got even when I wasn't updating. You are all great and your comments, kudos, and bookmarks make my day whenever I see them. Thanks so much for being patient!
> 
> You can come yell at me about how late I am on [Tumblr](https://geekinthecorner.tumblr.com/) if you want.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I know the characters here aren't perfect, and some of the text is awkward, but I hope you enjoyed reading it anyway. I don't have access to many comics, hence the jumbled together canon. 
> 
> I have a [Tumblr](https://geekinthecorner.tumblr.com/) if you want to chat, or have a prompt you want me to try to write about.


End file.
